Yankees acquire Martin Prado for Peter O’Brien

For the second time this month, the Yankees and Diamondbacks hooked up for a trade on Thursday. New York acquired the versatile sometimes infielder, sometimes outfielder Martin Prado from Arizona in exchange for minor leaguer Peter O’Brien, the club announced. The two teams got together for the Brandon McCarthy/Vidal Nuno swap a few weeks ago.

Prado, 30, is hitting .270/.317/.370 (89 wRC+) with 17 doubles and five homers in 436 plate appearances this year. He put up a .282/.333/.417 (104 wRC+) batting line with the D’Backs last season after being acquiring from the Braves as the centerpiece of the Justin Upton trade. Prado rarely walks (5.3% this year, 6.3% career) but he is a high-contact hitter (13.1% strikeout rate this year, 10.7% career) who has mashed lefties both this year (140 wRC+) and throughout his career (119 wRC+). The Yankees are in desperate need of righty production and he’ll help fix that.

Brian Cashman told reporters Prado will see most of this time in right field, which makes sense. Stephen Drew was acquired to play second base and every other position on the field is accounted for. Prado has only played two career innings in right but he has a ton of experience in left, so the outfield will not be completely foreign to him. With Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury running down everything in a two-mile radius (give or take), not to mention a ground ball pitching staff, they can hide a below-average defender in Yankee Stadium‘s small right field in exchange for more offense.

Prado has played primarily third base over the last two seasons, though he has spent considerable time at second as well. He can fake shortstop and even first base if needed. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. Here’s a snippet of what I wrote about Prado in our Scouting The Market post a few weeks ago:

Arizona gave Prado a four-year extension worth $40M last spring. He is owed about $5M through the end of the season plus $11M in both 2015 and 2016, so he and (Aaron) Hill have basically identical contract situations. If he was producing like regular old Martin Prado, it would be more than a fair wage. Since he is having a down year and it’s unclear if there is something more to it than just the general ups and downs of baseball, it’s a bit more scary.

There are no significant red flags in Prado’s batted ball or plate discipline data, which is a good thing. You want him to be the same player he was for most of his career. That makes me more hopeful the poor start to his season — he has hit .282/.326/.411 (103 wRC+) over the last two months, for what it’s worth — is just one of those things and not the first step off the cliff. As they did with the McCarthy and Chase Headley pick ups, the Yankees traded for Prado when his value was down, except he’s under contract for another two years (age 30-32 seasons).

O’Brien, 24, was the Yankees’ second round pick in the 2012 draft out of Miami. He is hitting .267/.312/.593 (147 wRC+) with 33 homers in 413 plate appearances split between High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton this year. Only two players in the minors have hit more homeruns this season. O’Brien was the team’s top power prospect but there are also significant concerns about whether the holes in his swing and plate discipline issues will allow him to tap into that power at the next level — his 106/20 K/BB tells the story. He also doesn’t have a position, bouncing from catcher to third base to right field to first base since being drafted. With Paul Goldschmidt entrenched at first in Arizona, O’Brien will have to make it work elsewhere. That’s not the Bombers’ problem, obviously.

Acquiring Prado helps the Yankees both in the short and long-term, potentially. He steps into right field this year and going forward they could play him at second or third base, depending on the rest of the roster. Prado won’t block a youngster like Rob Refsnyder if they force their way onto the roster and he gives the team some protection at third given the uncertainty of the whole Alex Rodriguez situation. If Prado hits the way he did just last year, not even during his best years with the Braves, this is solid move to bolster the roster at a more than reasonable cost. Prospects like O’Brien are as tradeable as it gets.

For Peter O’Brien? Why? Not another penny nor prospect should have been surrendered today unless it was for a true impact player like a David Price. Cashman is just dreadful and needs to step aside.

CountryClub

Prado is a solid player, plays multiple positions and he’s signed for 2 more years.

hey now

Methinks you didn’t look at the handle.

SamVa

So.. the proven utility player that was the centerpiece of the Justin Upton trade a few years ago for a player who has an OBP of under .300 in A/AA this year is a bad trade?

The power tool is great.. but O’Brien doesn’t even have a position.

To me that’s a steal.

bpdelia

Listen I love prospects. But martin Prado is a solid above average ML player who’s still in his prime. He plays multiple positions. All of them at least capably. Peter O’Brien is somewhat intriguing but doesn’t have a position strikes out a ton and never walks. The odds of O’Brien producing more value in his career than Prado does in the next 3 years is incredibly small.

Great move. Should have done this in the winter ideally but what can you do.

nycsportzfan

I totally love the move. Prado is gonna be one of the better 8hitters in a lineup in baseball(if he does bat 8th which when you do projected lineup seems the case).

We did give up Raph DePaula in the Headley deal as well as O’Brien in the Prado deal, but in reality, Headley and Prado could become key members of the next couple yankee teams and both are still reasonably young and have proven big seasons in there past. They also kept Judge, Severino, Murphy, Sanchez,Refs, and Clarkin.. No excuses for this lineup anymore. Beltran has been coming around as has McCann, and Gardy and Cap are hitting.etc Now we got Headley and Prado at the bottom of the lineup and Drew taking aim at the short porch. Should be fun to watch unfold.

Howie

Peter O’Brien is a terrible defensive player. On top of that, there are major concerns about his ability to hit major league pitching. He might only be able to put on amazing BP shows in the majors.

Ron Hellio

O’Brien isn’t really a prospect. Good power, true, but so many holes in his swing it’s doubtful he’ll be a productive major leaguer. There are just too many flaws for pitchers to exploit. He also doesn’t really have a position.

These trades are meaningless. I love the Yankees, so don’t think I’m a hater, but they are going nowhere this season. Even if they make the playoffs, which I doubt, they’ll get crushed by Oakland or Detroit.

Someone posted that Cashman should have backed up the truck and embarked on a rebuilding program, trading Gardner, Robertson, Kuroda and Texiera for prospects. Genius idea. They should have adopted it, because without new blood, our team will be older and worse next season.

OldYanksFan

Gardner and DRob are building blocks for the future. Silly to trade them.
Drew (whom I’m not particularly fond of) gets a tryout as our future SS. He has the potential to be an above average SS.
Prado is a solid 2nd baseman going forward.
Headley gets a tryout as our future 3rd baseman. He has the potential to be an above average 3rd baseman.

In truth, these were only minor upgrades for this year, but this year was based on 3 pitchers and on DL (Tanaka, Pineda and Nova) and better performance from McCann and Beltran.

Cashman built for a potential playoff shot last Winter. Injuries and underperformance have derailed us. However, by not trading a SINGLE HIGH END FARMHAND, and getting Headley, Drew and Prado, he did a great job of looking ahead.

No matter what (doable) trade Cashman might have made, we were still a longshot for the PS this year. Instead of panicking and blowing our future for that longshot, he made us a bit better this year, and a bit better next year.

Cashman bought very low on Headley, Drew and Prado. These guys would have all cost a LOT more last year. That alone is a Win for Cashman.

bpdelia

Yup. The people screaming about “sell it al!!!!!!”. Fail to realize a few very important things.
A) the Yankees are a pretty decent team having a pretty decent year derailed by injuries. Their best players (Tanaka, Gardner, McCann, ellsbury) are all signed, in their prime and great players. The core of the team is good. WAAAYYYY to good to go tearing everything down.

B) the Yankees have an exciting and restocked farm system with prospects at every level and nicely spaced out. They just went on an insane IFA binge, that added to the resurgent farm will make this organization very well stocked going forward.

C) a team with their resources never needs to go full tear down. It’s stupid, deppressing and EXTREMELY unpleasant to pay to watch.

D) their entire business plan is built around being competitive.

E). When did it before “if I don’t see a world series team we may as well be the Astros!”? I like watching competitive teams.

F). This isn’t the NBA. You can’t tank and get a player that single handedly makes you a playoff team. The best players ever don’t have that kind of impact.

Finally G). Baseball prospects flame out so very often. Flipping good players who have a 19% chance to behind good players in seven years isn’t a great plan. Ask the royals, or pirates fans now much fun 20 years of waiting on can’t miss prospects is.

This was handled perfectly. Improve the team. Make it more competitive ( therefore more FUN to watch) don’t panic. Hold your best prospects. Realize that this team is much closer to being a great team than a crap team.

I’m extremely pleased with every move they have made this month.

Allot of you are behaving like panic stricken spoiled kids.

oldguy

I feel Cashman has consistently done less, with more. However, gotta agree with Old Yanks Fan here.Getting Headley and Prada and to a lesser extent Drew, for prospects not in our Top 10 makes sense.

nyy13

YES!!! At least a good hitter!!

TheRealGreg

This is a great move.

Jerkface

This must mean the end of Brian Roberts, which has been long overdue

Blake

Yes ….I’m assuming Prado will play RF and Drew 2B? The offense and defense are better now……te hope is that they can get Tanaka back and maybeake a rub at Lee in August if healthy

Bret The Hitman

word

except why would you want to rub Lee?

Bret The Hitman

perv

blake

Run! At Lee

The Big City of Dreams

Blake has a twin lol.

http://www.jeremytice.com Jeremy T

Prado can play pretty much everywhere. RF when Beltran can’t, 2B if Drew sucks, 1B when Tex is hurting, SS to give Jeter a day off.

Chris H

At no point should he be taking the field at SS, Drew and Ryan exist to give Jeter a day off at SS.

http://www.jeremytice.com Jeremy T

Yeah, that’s true. I totally forgot about Ryan.

TopChuckie

Is Prado a free agent after the year?

I like this, the Drew trade was just a waste. Rather have at least the illusion of power with Johnson.

Paisa

Nope. 2 more years at $11m(?) per

Macho Man “Randy Levine”

Prado signed through 2016 at $11 million per.

Always consult B-Ref.

The Great Gonzo

COTZ 4 LYFE!

Need Pitching & Hitting & Defense

Signed through 2016.

TopChuckie

Very good deal then. Where is O’Brien gonna play for an NL team? Weak 1B I guess. Don’t like it for the D-Backs, but who cares?

Someone explain to me: It seems like we just acquired Stephen Drew (SS) to play 2B and then Prado (2B/3B/LF) to play? RF? or is he the starting 2B? and where does Drew go?

Anyone?

AndrewYF

Drew will play 2B, and Prado will play RF. Roberts and Ichiro are probably the casualties.

SamVa

I like this if this is true.. can’t get worse in RF.

I wonder what happens to Brendan Ryan?

Seems like a heck of a lot of utility IF’s

MTU

Yup.

Lot’s of dead wood.

Bubba

Drew – SS
Prado – 2B
Beltran – RF
Jeter – DH

Chris H

Except Beltran can’t throw and Jeter is clearly never going to be forced off of SS. Drew-2B, Jeter-SS, Beltran-DH, Prado-RF/2B against LHP.

OldYanksFan

You want our lineup to have the worst DH is baseball?

TheRealGreg

Prado will probably play RF. And can move into the infield next year.

Yankee$

It’s a really solid move. Helps this year and next 2 years two. He. Luke be starting 3B next year with Alex status unknown and Headley FA at the end of the year. Also would rather have him at 1B then McCann when Tex is out.

Yankee$

“He could be…”

Need Pitching & Hitting & Defense

Probably Drew starts at second vs. RHP, Prado vs. LHP.
Prado probably gets time in RF as well.
And occasionally Drew at SS and Prado at 2B with Jeter off or DH.

Bryan

My best guess right now would be since Prado is still under contract for the next 2 years he becomes the everyday 2B. Drew would be used as utility IF since he can play 2b/3b/SS.

FIPster Doofus

Couldn’t care less about losing O’Brien, whom I don’t expect to amount to anything, but am leery of Prado’s contract. Is he the starting 2B the next two years?

CountryClub

or 3rd if/when Arod gets hurt.

IRememberCelerinoSanchez

Even if A-Rod is healthy (and allowed back0, I doubt they will count on him to play the field everyday. I think there is a better chance of Headley being re-signed to play third than A-Rod doing it.

Dan A.

This is a solid move. O’Brien probably wasn’t going to end up being more than Mark Reynolds. The Yanks get a solid MLB regular who can play multiple positions (that are of need this year and next). I think now that they have Prado and Drew and can dump Roberts and take ABs away from Ichiro (with Prado in the OF), it definitely looks better for them making a run. Cashman did exactly the right thing with these shrewd trades—helped out the current team without mortgaging the future at all.

I love the fact AZ now has O’Brien and Trumbo.

JAG

If O’Brien turned into Mark Reynolds, that would be a huge development win. Reynolds can at least fake it at 3rd and play a semi-decent 1B.

Dan G

Reynolds has over 220 career HRs (which fits nicely with his .220 average, mind you). I would be thrilled if O’Brien turned in that. Very shrewd move picking up Prado though who conveniently plays the 3 positions of need. I’d still prefer Johnson to Drew but I guess it came down to positional value. NY never really seemed intent on giving him many AB’s anyway.

I’ll miss seeing O’Brien’s HR total in DotF through. Good luck to him.

86w183

O’Brien has loads of power, but it’s his only tool. Surprised a National League team with a 1B would want him.

blake has to be thrilled. Three guys he wanted in the off-season — Headley, Drew and Prado are all Yankees.

Scott

+1

The Great Gonzo

I would have been content with O’ Brien as Mark Reynolds… Ecstatic, actually.

CountryClub

From someone that covers trenton:

Nick Peruffo ?@nickperuffo 1m
Peter O’Brien is a great guy with great power and really big holes in his swing.

AnthonyD

I like this. If he’s a 2 win 2B the next two years it makes a world of sense and for very little prospect value.

Chris in Durham

Agree w/ Sama. What is the plan here. Also, I was hoping that a good look at Headley would be great. Prado is primarily a 3B. So he’s got to be the 3B of the future, right?

CountryClub

Mark Feinsand ?@FeinsandNYDN 52s
Prado has played extensively in left field and at second and third base. Has two career innings in right field.

SweetSpot

Like the Prado deal, but not getting pitching help sucks. I’ve been hanging in there thinking the Yankees had a shot to surprise but with the injuries and after today; reality has finally set in. We are not even close to being in the same class as the Tigers and Athletics. Tough day for the Yankees.

Dan A.

They must be thinking Pineda’s going to make it back.

Stratocaster

I think Cashman intends to address pitching after the deadline, if needed. Probably smarter to see where Pineda and Tanaka are before acquiring a front line guy. I’m sure you could get Cliff Lee in August if he starts looking better and there’s a need.

Patrick

Yankees get Prado and Stephen fucking Drew and the Tigers get David Price?

Add Price to Verlander and Scherzer and none of these Mickey Mouse deals Cashman orchestrated mean a damn thing.

CountryClub

Up to this point, Verlander stinks this season.

oldmanalex

He can stink all he wants during the season, but I know for a fact there is no team in baseball that wants to go against that staff in a short playoff series.

FIPster Doofus

Yeah, because the rest of the staff is good.

LarryM FL

Yankees do not have the chips and would the Rays deal within their conference.

Old Man Time

How dare Cashman not turn on “force trades”.

IRememberCelerinoSanchez

A) Cashman said he called on Lester and Price, but they didn’t want to deal them in the division.

B) The Yanks don’t have a comp for Smyley or Franklin. Just like you can’t buy a $100 for a pair of sneakers if you only have $50 to your name (in a world of no credit, like MLB), you can’t buy the Prices and Lesters of the world without the young, controllable MLBers like Smyley or the high-end AAA prospects like Franklin.

Cashman this deadline turned literally nothing (Nuno, Solarte, DePaula who may not have been Rule 5 protected in the winter, and O’Brien who had a sub-.300 OBP in AA) into three quality rentals (McCarthy, Headley and Drew) and one above average MLB player who can fill three or four positions. All while holding onto the Yanks’ top prospects (that, sadly, weren’t enough to get Price or Lester). That’s a pretty good deadline for a guy with nothing to trade.

TheRealGreg

Cashman redeemed himself from the meh Stephen Drew trade with this move. I love versatile players and Prado is as versatile as it gets.

CountryClub

Sweeny Murti ?@YankeesWFAN 2m
One scout said Prado is “first team most underrated.” Gives the Yankees a 2b through 2016, could slide to 3b if needed too.

Chip

Prado moving to third and Ref taking over second next season? Could be pretty nice infield if they find a shortstop

trr

I’m OK with this!

Don’t Worry

Here’s Cashman’s final salute to Derek Jeter: an extended middle finger and a “Too bad you couldn’t last until Serverino’s up here, Cap’n!”

Wave Your Hat

I like Prado, at least short- and medium- term. With Prado, Headley and McCarthy they have made solid upgrades at three positions, plus Prado is very flexible, can be a decent back-up first baseman and hits LHP. And, next year he is decent ARod insurance.

SamVa

Wouldn’t Headley play first (behind McCann) and Prado go to third in this scenario?

Wave Your Hat

My thinking was they’d just leave Headley as the everyday third baseman but you could be right.

rooster

hal your fired
hank your fired,
Brian your gone to
escort him out of the building pleez

Rooster, you’re sent back to the 3rd grade to learn the difference between “you’re” and “your.”

*You’re

*You’re
*You’re
*You’re
*to

joeman

Pardo hasn’t played in a couple of years…

Old Man Time

Do you even have a working brain?

Paisa

Great deadline for Cashman. They improved all over the place for the price of nothing significant and are going to put a team out there these last 2 months that can definitely compete with Baltimore – which is the only team that really matters right now.

Still very concerned about the staff, and I wish they could have found another bullpen arm as well. But if the deal is not there, then what can you do?

CountryClub

Bryan Hoch ?@BryanHoch 38s
Drew is replacing Brian Roberts, who will be DFA

LarryM FL

Drew is for second base. Prado who I like and for O’Brien is a good move is our Rfer or Lfer. Brian Roberts goes from being exhausted to an early vacation.

I will say this, “the Red Sox are preparing for the future with an excellent farm system and a boat load of cash.” Can you imagine this team with prospects to offer for Carlos S. and David Price. Miami and Tampa will ship these two off to the Red Sox’s in a heart beat. The Yankees continue with cash for the oldies with a name and a continuing inept farm system. Who is controlling the ship.

LarryM FL

I do like the trades but don’t understand the long term. Every team must face the music when a roster can not win. You must retool for the golden opportunity.

TheRealGreg

Prado is under team control for two years and is only 30. So this last move is kind of for the long term.

Steinbrenner’s Ghost

“the Red Sox are preparing for the future with an excellent farm system and a boat load of cash.”

Typical red sox propaganda. Something Keith Law would say.

Macho Man “Randy Levine”

Yea, because KLaw goes out of his way to blow the Sawx.

Scott

Everyone at ESPN goes out of their way to blow the Sawx.

Old Man Time

Gonna be hard to get Price from Tampa.

Lehman College Rocks !!

he ended up going for almost nothing

Scott

Boston had like 5-6 young guys playing this year. Which was their choice, one of the reasons they let so many vets go last year after their WS win. They paid for it dearly this year.

They are making these trades because they are one of the worst teams in the major leagues right now. They know they aren’t going anywhere. Might as well get something for their players. You may think the Yanks have no shot, but the Yankee way isn’t to roll over and die while they are still within reach of a playoff spot.

TheStraw

Please DFA Roberts now…

CMed21

Looks like you got your wish.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadgeek Roadgeek Adam

He has been (courtesy of Bryan Hoch, Jack Curry and Mark Feinsand)

Need Pitching & Hitting & Defense

They just did.

joeman

Pardo would have been a nice pickup a few years ago

Don’t Worry

MLBTR is reporting Yanks to designate B-Rob.

Need Pitching & Hitting & Defense

So would it be Roberts and Wheeler losing their roster spots?
Maybe Almonte instead of Wheeler if they plan on Prado playing a lot of RF?

Rick

Probably not both since KJ was in the Drew trade.

FLYER7

Since Johnson was on DL, Drew gets Roberts spot on 25. Prado gets Wheelers spot, Rogers replaces a pitcher. My guess Almonte down and Pirela added or another bat from SWB.

Patrick L.

Roberts is designated for assignment.

Jerkface rejoices.

Scott

I thought Roberts was a good sign going into the season. There were times this season he played well and hit the ball hard with little to show for it. HOwever, he tanked starting in July, not just with the bat but the defense too.

I do think it is kind of a dick move to not get him those 2 more ABs the past few days. Not so much because he deserved them but the MLBPA and agents will notice that kind of thing in the future when players are looking to sign with the Yanks. If the Yanks say “we will give you incentives for making x, y, z” the player or agent can say “like you did for Brian Roberts?”

TC

On one hand, I kind of agree with you that it sure seems like a dick move, but on the other, he never should have come close to reaching this next incentive anyway. Bottom line is he didn’t play well enough to reach that mark. Plus, by ditching Roberts and Johnson for Prado and Drew, they are on the hook for a lot more money, so it’s not like they are pinching pennies in the big picture.

Steinbrenner’s Ghost

What the fuck?

they’re gonna waste $22 million on a .270 hitter with low power?

First Drew, now this?!?

Fire Cashman immediately, before he does any more damage

Paisa

So if he were a .300 hitter, and got essentially one additional hit per week over the course of the season, it’d be ok?

Steinbrenner’s Ghost

Are you one of Cashman’s crazy mistresses?

Mr. Roth

Is it your money?

Paisa

Noo…Although I can tell that someobody fucked your brains out.

Mr. Roth

+50

mscott

*****COMMENT OF THE YEAR NOMINEE*****

hogsmog

Dude it isn’t 2001 anymore, a guy who can play solid D at multiple infield position and put up .270 with ~10 HR is a fine player.

FIPster Doofus

A wRC+ of 89 isn’t too appealing for a guy making $11 mill. That’ll need to improve. Luckily, he does have a track record of offensive success.

joeman

Headley,Drew,Pardo would have been nice 2-3 years ago…

Rob

True, but what would they have cost 2-3 years ago?

Get Phelps Up

And the Phillies did nothing. LOL Amaro.

Get Phelps Up

Whoops, wrong thread.

Old Man Time

I don’t think that matters anymore.

Havok9120

It most certainly does.

Patrick L.

The Yankees got Headley, McCarthy, Drew and Prado for very little in return. I still don’t think the Yankees make any noise in the postseason unless they get really lucky with injuries (Pineda and Tanaka coming back). But still, Cashman did well to improve the team without really giving up much.

I’m One

Seems they took a cautious approach. They made a few nice pick ups at very little cost, so if Pineda & Tanaka don’t come back, no big deal. If they do, perhaps they can add a significant bat prior to 31 Aug. We’ll see.

hogsmog

Yeah I’m really impressed with how he handled the trade market recently. It seems like Cash improved the team as much as he possibly could this year, while minimally impacting the farm.

CountryClub

Bryan Hoch ?@BryanHoch 27s
Cashman said Yanks will have prospect Rob Refsnyder focus on second base at AAA for the rest of 2014.

Bret The Hitman

He could go in a Cliff Lee deal.

Scott

Looking to next year. Does this signal the Yanks definitely will not keep Headley next year? A-Rod is supposed to be back to play 3B, and Prado will probably play 2B with Drew at SS? Or do they cut Drew or A-Rod or both and play Prado at 3B and Refsnyder at 2B.

Andrew

Looking forward to the Cliff Lee salary dump pickup in August.

Bret The Hitman

I think it’s inevitable. There are too many question marks next year’s rotation.

Kosmo

no SP or RP ? I like Prado at 2B with Jeter DHing and Drew the almost everyday SS.

I´m surprised NY didn´t go after James Russell. No biggy

CountryClub

According to Cash, Drew is playing 2nd.

CountryClub

Mike Axisa ?@mikeaxisa 7m
McCarthy, Headley, Drew, Prado add like 4-6 wins to the roster. Is that enough? Great job giving up nothing of consequence.

RetroRob

Prado’s a solid player, is still only 30, and signed for two more years.

Pete O’Brien is a marginal prospect, and I’m being kind.

FIPster Doofus

I can’t believe he’s only 30.

RetroRob

Of course, it’s a reminder of how old the Yankees roster is that 30-years-old is young!

TopChuckie

So Roberts didn’t get his 2 AB’s did he? Could use all this as a smokescreen to unload him without paying the bonus. “We’re not cutting him because of the bonus, we’re cutting him because of all these new IF’s.” Seems petty of the Yanks, Red Sox-ish maybe, but it’s not like Roberts earned much better.

TopChuckie

Yankees designated 2B Brian Roberts for assignment.
Roberts managed to stay healthy this season, but he hit just .237/.300/.360 over 91 games and the Yankees decided to upgrade at second base with Stephen Drew. The 36-year-old will clear waivers and try to catch on elsewhere for the remainder of the season.

TopChuckie

Answered my own question even before I asked it, thanks to the timestamp quirk.

Scott

I think it was a little bit of bad move not getting him those last 2 ABs from a PR standpoint. Next offseason as FAs and agents start dealing with the Yanks and the Yanks offer someone incentives in the contract, the player will be like “you mean like B. Roberts AB incentives…”

TopChuckie

Agreed, I’d expect it from some other teams, not the Yanks.

RetroRob

There is zero percent chance that will happen. Yankee money has always been good money and replacing Roberts with better players is the nature of the game.

pinch hitter

Agents might suggest the player try not sucking if they want to reach the bonus.

Steve (different one)

But how is it a “smokescreen”? They are clearly cutting him because they acquired 2 new IFers.

I would agree if they sat him this week to keep his bonus from vesting, that is a little petty.

But today’s DFA is completely legit.

Bret The Hitman

Cashman started the year with an INF poo-poo platter of Kelly Johnson, Brian Roberts, Brendan Ryan and Yangervis Solarte. Considering last year big innings were also played by David Adams…

Also consider players like Ronnie Mustielier (spelling?) were dangerously close to being in the mix.

RetroRob

Headley, Prado and Drew have all been on Yankee fans various wish lists the last season or two. The first two on mine. They all ended up on the Yankees at little cost.

Joe C

I actually like the deals they made today. I really do. They didn’t give up a whole heck of a lot and they kept their best prospects so that they can eventually step and make an impact on this ball club. That to me is a good day for the Yankees.

My Worst nightmare would be to see the Yankees go back to the future and trade away their best prospects for marginal players the way they did in the 1980’s when they gave away the likes of Willie McGee, Jay Buhner for a pack of bubble gum cards and tickets to howard the duck. I didn’t want to see that happen all over again. To me, that would have been disasterous. But that didn’t happen. So it’s a good day for the ball club as far as I’m concerned.

Old Man Time

Yeah, I don’t want to see Howard The Duck again either.

joeman

NYY at season’s end will be a .500 team ..will it be good enough to make the playoffs

Mikhel

“will it be good enough to make the playoffs”

No, everybody got better, even the Redsux can now overtake them. But this is the type of moves Cashman loves, trading for no-names, for over the hill players, specially if they are overpriced, he salivates all over his office whenever overpriced garbage is available.

Scott

My goodness you are a bitter person. Go have a drink of fly to Washington and smoke one up. Because if you think Boston will suddenly over take the Yanks you might as well be high. They lost their best pitcher and arguably their 2nd best pitcher.

IamtheWalrus

…and their 3rd best pitcher, and their 4th best pitcher.

Old Man Time

You’ve lost your freakin mind.

RetroRob

The Red Sox are building for 2015. They are worse right now in 2014. If he can’t see that now, I don’t think any amount of words here will fix it.

CountryClub

Ben Badler ?@BenBadler 18s
Peter O’Brien has huge power. But the approach won’t translate and he doesn’t have a position. Easy call for the Yankees.

Howard Cosell

so the Yankees trade for a multi-dimensional backup and are willing to pay him 11 million a year but

wont pay a top closer that has demonstrated he can pitch in New York the same money……

Who the hell is running this team? Jay-Z?

Mr. Roth

Are you from the future? Can you explain how you know they won’t resign D-Rob?

Scott

Who are you even talking about???

Get Phelps Up

MFIKY I bet. Or he thinks that Mariano retired because the Yankees didn’t want to pay him for another year.

Howard Cosell

Robertson

joeman

Trust Pardo changing leagues at this point of the year will not make you happy

Mikhel

*Prado.

Pardo in spanish means that something looks like it is a certain colour but in reality is another. When somebody says “gato pardo” or “gatopardo” means that you did something to fool others, kind of like a scam… more or less. Spanish is a really hard and complex language :P

Deep Thoughts

So a leopard is “lion-colored”?

joeman

blake says:

July 31, 2014 at 4:50 pm

Prado is hitting .338 with an .881 OPS vs LHP this year …..I’m thinking that was part of the decision making
————————-
in the NL

Chip

You’re right, hitting Kershaw is easy

Old Man Time

EVERYONE SAYS:

USE THE FUCKING REPLY BUTTON.

Chip

Old Man Time says:
July 31, 2014 at 4:57 pm
EVERYONE SAYS:
USE THE FUCKING REPLY BUTTON.

———–

How does that work?

FIPster Doofus

Headley couldn’t hit in the NL, but now he’s hitting in the AL. Care to explain?

Betty Lizard

This happened once before
When I came to your door
No reply
They said it wasn’t you
But I saw you peep through your window

I saw the lie, I saw the lie

No reply, no reply

blake

Prado is hitting .338 with an .881 OPS vs LHP this year …..I’m thinking that was part of the decision making

Chip

So the Yankees got Headley, McCarthy, Prado and Drew for Nuno, Solarte, DePaula, Johnson and O’Brien? He seriously just upgraded the major league team a ton while giving up nearly no value at all. I don’t understand why we still all hate Cashman

Mikhel

Just goes to show that hitting 30+ HR in the minor leagues for the Yankees means a player will get a slim chance of ever being promoted by the Yankees.

The excuse might be “he is bad defensively”, but so is Roberts, Johnson and McCann at 1B, and yet they got to play there.

At least give the guy playing time, he could contribute and if not, then ask the DBacks to put Prado on waivers and pay them full price, a 0.270 hitter who is on the downside of his career and earning 11 mill is not very likely to get claimed.

Bret The Hitman

He seems like Shelley Duncan to me.

I wish him well.

W.B. Mason Williams

Your mistake is thinking homers are all that matters.

This guy will probably end up worse than Adam Dunn and Mark Trumbo.

FIPster Doofus

Adam Dunn has almost 500 career home runs, so it’s a pretty good bet that O’Brien will be worse than Adam Dunn.

Mikhel

Sure it is a good bet he’ll be worse than Dunn, but is giving a minorleaguer a chance in the majors a concept so hard to grasp?

For things like that is that i despise bandwagonners who think everything can be fixed via trades for overpaid hitters or by opening the wallet.

Chip

And I despise people who think every hot week in AAA means a guy is a future super star and should be brought up now only to complain that he doesn’t hit right away

FIPster Doofus

I have no problem whatsoever trading someone w/ an approach as horrible as O’Brien’s. The odds of him ever amounting to anything even semi-useful are extremely slim. He has a .296 OBP in AA, ffs, and no obvious position.

Chip

Also, he’s already 24 so he really should be destroying AA. There aren’t nearly as many mistakes to destroy in the majors

Mikhel

0.863 OPS in 2013, 0.900+ OPS in 2014, if he can post a 0.800 OPS at the major leagues for even a month, he would be worth more than what they have been sending as patches. Now they have added what? about 11 millions in two players? One of ’em a 0.176 AVG SS who will play 2B.

Steve (different one)

If only the Yankees got 2 DH spots.

Chip

If O’Brien came up and hit better than Beltran for the next month, I would eat my hat

W.B. Mason Williams

There’s the heart of the matter.

I doubt he could even post a .700+ OPS in the majors.

Chip

Good to see the president of the Mark Trumbo fan club stopped by. I did have a really fun mental image of O’Brien playing second base though. Thanks for that

Mikhel

Who is saying O’Brien should play 2B? O’Brien played 1B, if McCann can not hit and plays 1B, so could O’Brien who is younger.

And nope, HRs do not matter, but high OPS does, you know what OPS is, right?

Chip

You know what’s a big part of OPS? On base percentage.

You know how has a sub-.300 OBP in AA as a 24 year old? Peter O’Brien

Seriously, O’Brien is a guy who can destroy minor league pitchers by hitting mistakes but won’t get all those mistakes in the big leagues to destroy. McCann is only playing first as a fill in and is an outstanding defensive catcher. If O’Brien could play catcher like McCann could, he would be a top 50 prospect and probably already in the majors

OldYanksFan

To the gulag with you!

bw1tz

The excuse wasnt just that he didnt have a position. He’s power hitter with huge holes in his swing. O’Brien was the second coming of players like Mitch Jones and Shelly Duncan.

Stop with the stupidity.

Grover

Stop the whining as you sound like spoiled rich kids. Cashman delivered without giving up anything of consequence. I thought it would be Hill but Prado is a much better grab. I’ll take whatever Drew might give this year over what I saw from Johnson which wasn’t much.

SweetSpot

I would love to have seen what Hal and Levine’s mandates were regarding cash and contracts, etc. What deals almost happened, which were rejected if any by management.

Chip

They took a lot of salary on between Drew and Prado so I doubt it was a contracts/cash issue. They just didn’t have the prospects to get Price/Lester

TripleShortOfACycle

Sorry but they could have beat a package of Drew S and Jackson if they wanted to

Scott

Okay so who??? It is clear that Tampa and Seattle wanted major league talent to replace Price. So who is the equivalent major league player the Yanks would have given up for Price?

Not to mention the fact that because it would have been an intra-division trade the Rays would have asked for even more from the Yanks.

Lots of your blowhards whine the Yanks could have, or should have done this or that, but it takes two teams to make a trade. If the Rays didn’t want to trade within the division, or if they didn’t like anything the Yanks had you can’t force them to do it. Do you think Cashman brings a gun to trade meetings?

“You take this fu@&!#ng player or I will fu&&#@ing blow your f**&^%ing head off asshole!!” “And give me David Price and throw in Joe Maddon mother fuc&#@er”

Chip

Crickets.

Exactly, the closest thing we have to Jackson is Gardner who is much more expensive and also untradable if the Yankees think they’re in contention as he’s their best hitter. We also don’t have a pitcher like Smyly who is a proven young starter with upside. I guess the closest we have is Phelps but Smyly is clearly the superior player but sure.

So what I’m saying is that the Yankees could, at best, have offered Gardner, Phelps and Avelino and lost because that isn’t as good as they got and they wouldn’t trade in the division. Also, the Yankees couldn’t afford to give those two guys up as they have nobody to replace them with

Steve (different one)

Yes, they could have. But this assumes the Rays were dealing Price to their closest competitor for the next 1 1/2 seasons and possibly beyond. Which they weren’t going to do.

adeelmd

Even if they did have the talent, this team is NOT worth that sacrifice. I’m happy JRM and other of his ilk are still here.

Honestly, the biggest losers at the deadline look like the phillies for not parting with Byrd.

For the short term, the AL east just lost three high quality pitchers that are going to be replaced by league average players. It makes the stretch run (and this weekend) look a LOT more better….

Bret The Hitman

On the bright side..

The return on Lester + Price shatters the market for Cliff Lee. His contract is a serious liability and you might see a Bobby Abreu type deal.

Bret The Hitman

Price (ace lefty 2 years of control) fetched Franklin + Smyly.

Lee (ace lefty 2 years of control) is owed 50 million, far more than Price
Lee is way older by far.
Lee is thus far more injury prone.
Lee is not as dominant/talented right now.

The Yankees could easily be eyeing a Bobby Abreu type deal after Lee clears waivers.

Wave Your Hat

Girardi faces some interesting decisions. I’d bench Drew, play Prado at 2nd and Wheeler in RF vs LHP, move Prado back to RF and Drew to 2nd vs RHP, use Ichiro for late inning defense and send Almonte back down.

Patrick L.

These moves certainly give Girardi some more (and better) options.

Mel

I’d DFA Ichiro in a heartbeat

Chip

I think Ichiro is fine as a late inning defense/pinch runner/backup outfielder. He’s now the 24 or 25 guy on the roster rather than being a starter

Mike HC

Yea, I like Ichiro on the bench. It is the starting thing that is the problem.

joeman

talk to me when Pardo is batting .240 in the AL

Mel Brand

Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night!

hogsmog

Talk to me when O’Brien is batting .240 anywhere in the MLB.

Jorge Steinbrenner

Gain Stephen Drew and lose Pete O’Brien in the same day.

There is a God, and she really wanted to fuck with RAB readership today.

Old Man Time

I’m worried about nysportzphan

Chip

Has anybody heard from him? We should probably call his mother and make sure he’s ok. Just let him know that Refsnyder is fine

Old Man Time

I bet he’s wearing one of those Thundershirts for pet anxiety.

Bret The Hitman

God is a hermaphrodite.

Macho Man “Randy Levine”

Jesus is a mischievous badger.

Betty Lizard

To love God you must love change and love a good joke, as those are the true nature of her being.

Isak Dinesen, who could have been a baseball fan as she wrote the book about loss

Yankeefan91

i like it and we saved our big prospects and hopefully if we do trade them its for TULO.

Don’t Worry

Tulo’s always injured, his #s are Colo-Inflated, and he makes a ton of money. And on the wrong side of 30. Yeah, that’s a bright idea.

Yankeefan91

Tell Me a better shorstop then Troy Tulowitzki? ill take Tulo With a broken Hip and he would be better then any shorstop u name.

Don’t Worry

If he has a broken hip, he’ll be on the DL. What good does that do you? And his value is determined by his production against his paycheck over time. And his production will decline in NY and over time. No thanks.

Yankeefan91

hes 29 turning 30 this year he plays in the al west in ballparks like San Diego And San Francisco and your telling me he wont succeed in a ballpark like Yankee Stadium ? and that’s not mentioning facing the Red Sox in fenway and the blue jays witch is also a good hitting park as well as orioles park yo must be crazy not to want Tulo.

Don’t Worry

No, his numbers are Colo-Inflated like all Colo-numbers are inflated–the Rox are top 5 in the league every year in batting and bottom of the league in pitching every year. It’s not a coincidence. (And they never win.) Sure, his production is excellent, but not good enough for the inevitable decline over time due to age, injuries, and non-Colo factor. It’s not that he’s not good, he’s just not a good value for the cost.

Chip

You are aware that things like wRC+ who have Tulo as one of the best hitters in the league are adjusted for park and league right? The injury concerns are legit but there is no denying a healthy Tulo is a top 5 player in all of baseball

FIPster Doofus

Tulo in a shortened season is still more valuable than just about every other SS in MLB.

Yankeefan91

this guy knows what hes talking about.

I Collect Brett Gardner Cards

Does this mean Refsnyder moves to RF to possible big league spot next spring?

Patrick L.

Nope, Cashman said on conference call that he will be at 2B in AAA permanently for the rest of this year. I think he will be given an opportunity to win the job next year in spring training.

Prado is a nice pick up because he gives some insurance at multiple spots for next season as well as whatever he can do in 2014. Right now for 2015 we have A-rod, Refsnyder, Beltran penciled in at 3B, 2B and RF respectively. But all 3 are pretty major question marks and Prado can step in at any of those 3 spots. Good move.

Bret The Hitman

I think Prado is 2B and backup 3B with Arod back and possibly Headley. Refsnyder seems to be trade bait.

Patrick L.

What makes you think Refs is trade bait? It’s been so long since the Yankees graduated a legitimate position prospect I would have to be blown away to trade him, but that’s just me.

Chip

I’m not so sure, I’ll bet the Yankees value him a lot more highly than anybody else. I’d be willing to bet he starts at second on opening day next season

Bret The Hitman

He’s worth more as a middle infielder where his bat plays up and now you’ve got Prado there for 2 years, very productive for a middle infielder these days, proven, with a great glove. Refsnyder is trade bait.

Patrick L.

I still don’t see the logic. Prado isn’t just a 2B, he can play RF and 3B. Something the Yankees will need if they plan on going into next season with Beltran and A-rod starting at those two spots.

Refsnyder isn’t really a highly regarded prospect right now, I don’t see him bringing a huge return. There is an obvious hole at 2B and he’s close to the majors, it really doesn’t make sense to trade him.

Chip

My thoughts exactly. You could play Ref at second, Prado at third, Beltran in right and DH A-Rod next season. Also, Prado will probably spend the rest of this season in right so you couple put A-Rod at third some of the time to give Beltran DH days or days off

Mike HC

And regardless it will provide good depth in case of injury or people sucking. I don’t think Ref is trade bait at all either. We are still really light in the infield for next year.

Patrick L.

This is how I see it shaking out, unless A-rod is released which I doubt will happen. A-rod and Beltran will both need time at DH so Prado can play 3B and RF depending on who gets half a day off. If Headley continues playing well I would consider bringing him back but I don’t think that will happen either.

RetroRob

Prado’s versatility is his strength. He could play 3B next year, or he could play 2B, or he could play the OF, or he could play all of them. He’ll be on the team next year for that reason. He takes the super-sub role, but unlike the other players the Yankees have tried to slot in there, he can actually play.

Bret The Hitman

Defensively, Headley at 3B, Prado at 2B and Tex at 1B is excellent. McCarthy should be thrilled.

Scott

Didn’t think about that at all. Isn’t Capuano a groundball pitcher too? Improves the defense tremendously.

Bret The Hitman

So is Cliff Lee.

CJ Henry for Bobby Abreu anyone?

hey now

Roberts’ days off and subsequent DFA had nothing to do with his upcoming bonus, and these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

Lehman College Rocks !!

for those that want details

you can see how many games he played each year at each position here under standard fielding:

I like this move more for next year than this year. This year, Prado plays RF. Blah. Next year, if he moves to 2B, and then we re-sign drew & headley they have 2b/3b/SS filled. Not great but certainly better than what they’ve trotted out there this year.

Howard Cosell

Jay Buhner – Lou Pinella ” he’s got a hitch in his swing he’ll never hit on the big level” for Ken Phelps….

all over again…..

Chip

Jay Buhner hit .275/.341/.490 has a major leaguer at 24 which is how old O’Brien is. Stop trying to make him out to be a future All Star when he just isn’t

FIPster Doofus

You and your facts.

bronx44

It’s amazing to see all the expert GMs posting on here. I recall alot of you guys not too thrilled about Chase Headly. I say give these guys s chance to play in pinstripes. After all would you rather play for Red Sox and Diamondbacks. Last time I looked they were both in last place in their divisions.

RetroRob

That always happens. People complain about everything, they’ll be right on one of them, declare themselves brilliant, ignoring all the thousand other times their wrong.

And, yeah, the Red Sox. Three of the last four seasons have been disasters. They hit the lottery last year, but overall they’re just as good as building teams that have historic collapses or finish in last place than anything else during that period. I don’t even mean that as a knock. I see what they’re trying to do, but no way most of the people in this thread would be cheering the Yankees with these results, even with a World Series mixed in.

King of Fruitless Hypotheticals

NO NO NO NO NO

Deep Thoughts

They blew through the $189mm ceiling, just added a shit-ton of salary at the deadline, but DFA’d Roberts to avoid a $250k incentive payment. Right.

bw1tz

Or the DFA’d him because, you know, he wasnt useful at all.

RetroRob

They didn’t DFA him to avoid the payment, but they decided to upgrade at the deadline, so they sat him down so he didn’t get them. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Why no save a quarter of a million when you’ve decided the player is toast?

Lehman College Rocks !!

our investigative team was scouring around for the word on the street in Arizona about Prado.
many are glad to seem him go, many appreciated his versatility.
almost all hate the diamondback GM Kevin Towers

bojo

Once Lee clears waivers, the Phillies might have to include Byrd to get rid of both salaries. May be an opportunity (but a risky one) to pick up 2 players.

Personally, I would pass but it would be interesting to see what happens.

Terry

I like these trades. Prado’s a good hitter. Add the defense of both he and Drew and the Yankees are a better team. I think we all forget that we had a great rotation for first part of the season. Tanaka and Pineda got off to strong starts and it all fell apart. Get the two healthy along with Nova and the team is a hell of a lot better. Waiver deadline is also going to be a player with them adding some players.

http://riveravenueblues mississippi doc

I hope that you are right, Terry. I am concerned that Pineda will never be healthy, that Tanaka will eventually need TJ surgery and who knows what he will be afterwards, and that Nova is even more of a question mark now than before. On the other hand, Phelps and Greene, and even Whitley have been pleasant surprises. But I don’t see us in the same league as Oakland, LAA, or now Detroit. If you are a traditional NY sports fan-Yankees, Giants, Knicks, Rangers-only one has a bright future.